Roasted Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli cheese soup is a common soup staple in the cold, winter months. I've taken it up a notch by roasting the broccoli in the oven before adding it the soup. The flavor of this rich & creamy Roasted Broccoli Cheddar Soup is perfect for a cold winter day!

This winter we made it to the week of Christmas without any snow in my neck of the woods of Minnesota. Within that week we received about a foot. Is this what happens when Minnesotans ask for a white Christmas? We all knew the day would come eventually and now that it's here, the constant hum of snow blowers fill the air. These days I seem to work up an appetite just getting everybody dressed in their snow pants, boots, jackets, hats and gloves to get some fresh air outside. We've jumped right into the routine of sledding, ice fishing and attempting to teach my almost 5 year old how to ice skate.  I don't know of a better way to warm up after a day in the snow than a nice, hot bowl of soup!

What You'll Need for Roasted Broccoli Cheddar Soup

The most time-consuming part of this recipe is roasting the broccoli in the oven, but while its roasting, you can work on the rest of the soup so it comes together quickly! I like this soup to be chunky and have a good amount of broccoli in it as this is the majority of the substance of the soup. When buying the broccoli at the grocery store, look for 3 medium to large heads or 4 smaller heads to give you the right amount. The broccoli will shrink slightly when roasted, but about 6 cups of raw broccoli will be perfect. 

Carrots and onion add great color and flavor to the soup. About 3 whole carrots diced small and 1 white onion chopped will give you 1 cup of each. 

Quick tip for garlic: I always have a jar of minced garlic in my fridge. You can either find it in the spice aisle or the produce section of the grocery store. It's usually mixed with olive oil and is a huge time saver! Generally, the rule is ½ teaspoon of minced garlic is equal to 1 clove. So much easier than chopping garlic cloves! 

Bonus tip for chicken broth: Instead of buying a bunch of cans of chicken broth, another thing I always have in my fridge is chicken base. This can be found right in the soup aisle and is basically a concentrated form of chicken broth. The ratio for the kind I use is 2 teaspoon to 1 cup of hot water. Mix up the right amount you need and no need to store all those cans or boxes of broth in your pantry!

Dry ground mustard adds another dimension of flavor to the soup along with sharp cheddar cheese with heavy cream making the soup irresistibly creamy. In the words of Julia Child "If you are afraid of butter, use cream".

How to Make It

Start by getting the broccoli roasting in the oven. I cut the heads into large bite-size pieces and lay them out on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper & garlic. Roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes until nice and tender. While that's roasting, you can get most of the other components done.

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Add diced carrots & onion and sauté 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle over flour & dry mustard and cook another minute. It's always a good idea to cook this mixture for a minute or so to allow all the flour to absorb into the vegetables. 

• Roux = equal parts fat to flour, in this case we used 2 tablespoons each of butter & olive oil to cook the veggies which is equal to ¼ cup for the correct flour amount. This is the basic ratio for any roux.

Stir in chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook about 10 minutes until the carrots are tender. Keep in mind the smaller you dice the carrots, the quicker they will cook! 

Once the broccoli is finished roasting it can be added right to the soup. I just love the flavor of roasted broccoli! Roasting veggies is one of my favorite ways to serve them. The roasted broccoli adds a wonderful new depth of flavor to the soup.

With the heat on medium, stir in the shredded cheese. It may take a couple minutes, but keep stirring until the cheese is completely melted. I'm sharing lots of tips with you for this recipe, but here comes another one: grate your own cheese! Pre-shredded cheese is coated in an anti-caking mixture to prevent the shreds from sticking together. Adding this to the soup could effect the texture, making it more grainy. I think it's totally worth the extra minute it takes to grate your own cheese!

To finish the soup, turn the heat to low and add heavy cream. Heat through for another couple minutes, but be sure the soup doesn't boil. Nothing worse than curdled soup. Warm up some nice crusty bread for dipping and you have a comforting soup that is sure to warm your tummy!

 

Other soup recipes your family will love:

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

Butternut Squash and Sausage Soup